War and Peace.

Throughout the history of our planet Earth, there have always been peoples and tribes prepared to wage war. And if we consider just the last few centuries, we can see that the countries of Europe have somehow come to play a major part in this process. However, this way of looking at things limits our view of the world and makes it difficult to adopt a genuinely holistic perspective. There are few countries that have mastered the art of peace, which is a real art and much more lucrative, because mastering peace naturally makes a country richer: earthly goods are not stolen together, but are given to one another through a procedure based on mutual interest and agreement. Switzerland is a small and peaceful country that has succeeded in mastering this art over many centuries. You’d really need to take a closer look at how they do it, wouldn’t you? Gifts are made in return for earlier gifts. That’s the nature of gifts: one hand washes the other, doesn’t it? We know that from our own country and its politics, don’t we?

NATO is an alliance of countries whose plan was originally to help one another if they were attacked. Mind you, that makes NATO a defensive alliance that isn’t supposed to wage war by attacking its opponents. Some people still haven’t understood that. This doesn’t matter, because what isn’t can still be. So, let’s go back a little in time and what do we find? A few centuries ago, the Romans ruled Europe and the world as we knew it. Back then, humankind was still living on the surface of a flat disk. The Romans were people who little by little refined the arts and techniques of war, achieving almost complete mastery. But then they became lazy and careless: they started making mistakes and forgot the virtues of peace, because every war comes to an end and then you have to remain capable of learning and mastering the organisation of peace. This was the case with the Greeks and all other peoples and tribes before and after them: the Huns; the Egyptians; the Etruscans; the Normans, and so on.

Those who do not master the laws of peace are dealt very bad cards over the course of time. If we consider recent history, we see the powerful USA on one side and Russia on the other. China and India are newcomers and may soon be joined by other states. The United States of Europe perhaps? Nothing can be ruled out. We can see how the Americans have been slowly running out of money for a few years now. But they don’t want to make a big deal out of this. I understand that. The big wheel has to keep turning. But if you spend most of your tax revenue every year on weapons and the armed forces, while creating new and imaginary battlefields where there is no wealth to be gained, sooner or later you will be insolvent. It has taken less than a hundred years for America to reach this point. Now The Donald is trying to receive compensation for providing American military support to Ukraine by signing a contract for the exploitation of rare earths (mineral resources). Don’t make me laugh!

To put it simply, a superpower always comes to an end when it runs out of money. Of course, this situation has to be concealed and kept secret for as long as possible. But let’s have a glance behind the curtain and delve into some history. The Romans also became broke at some point, as did the Spanish and even we here in Portugal, after South America and Africa had been completely plundered and there was nothing left to steal. The Germans went broke and the British would almost have followed suit under Churchill if America hadn’t entered the Second World War in their support. You just have to be on the right side of history and forge an alliance with the right friends. And then shape and manage the so-called peace. This can be done in a variety of ways: either through weapons and defensive deterrents or in ways that are truly peaceful. There is no alternative to real peace, as the Greeks already knew when they invented the Olympic Games…

But even “bread and circus” does not diminish humankind’s desire for war. Life becomes dull and difficult if people are not real peace builders. They are always tempted to increase their possessions and to become more and more imperial.

Peace is a good that must be constantly renewed, and it must be placed at the centre of all activity as the highest goal of humanity. Peace is actually a very easy good to obtain. The pursuit of peace, not the pursuit of power or wealth, I mean. You can donate 250 million dollars to a presidential candidate and still not conceal an inner emptiness… You can build electric cars and still only produce scrap. Because, in the end, it is important to hold something in your hand that makes you rich inside. That’s why we talk about peace of mind. And peace is the sort of good that you have to embody and internalise, I would argue that you also need to have learned and practiced peace – in order to be able to sow it without self-interest.

America is broke. And why? Because the Americans have forgotten how to do the maths. They have stationed their troops all over the world, which costs an insane amount and brings in nothing. Nothing comes back. On the contrary. At the age of 78, The Donald is broke and, in his helplessness, is too proud and not mature enough to honestly tell his allied friends that he actually needs their help in solving his financial problems. Instead, he exaggerates his hollow strength and taxes products to provide revenue for his government, which in turn the US citizens themselves will have to pay for in reality. Stupid policies create stupid decisions, leading to stupid solutions that achieve nothing except a trade war that helps no one, especially not the USA itself, and even less so Canada, Mexico, China, the EU, etc. Because anyone who sees the EU simply as an entity that was founded to pull the wool over the USA’s eyes (a quote from Donald himself) doesn’t have all their eggs in one basket. But it’s not surprising that the old man in the White House in Washington can’t think any differently or act any smarter. Yet we in Europe do not have the brightest of minds either.

There is a law in Germany that forbids the incurring of debt. Then, suddenly, from one moment to the next, the Germans want to run up debts of 800 or 900 billion euros. They will ban the constitutionally enshrined law on incurring debt and run up almost two years’ worth of national expenses, and all because they are now alarmed that the USA is no longer doing its job of protecting Europe and Germany (and, incidentally, Portugal and the other states) in a predictable manner…

Instead of offering to help the Americans, they are only helping themselves. Well, good night, then, because someone will have to pay it all back in the future. Should our governments perhaps offer the USA something in return for their soldiers, something that they can use to pay the soldiers’ wages and everything else?

It would only be fair to cover the expenses of the big ally, the costs incurred in providing protection, in return for the support that big brother provides, wouldn’t it? Why is it that nobody in Europe understands this? Big brother suddenly sounds like an angry uncle. And why? The USA has to shoulder billions in costs every year: it provides protection but gets nothing in return except for a warm handshake.

Life is only peaceful when taking is followed by giving. Taking and giving must always go hand in hand with each other. The rest is history, and we could actually do without all the words in the talk shows, in the newspapers, etc. After the Second World War, the United States created a world order in which the Europeans did not have to rearm because they did not want them to return to the levels that existed before the Second World War. As a result, the USA guaranteed Europe’s security. This has allowed Europe to prosper economically and live in peace, at the expense of the US. However, distributing wealth more fairly begins with making friendships and ensuring that nobody feels ripped off. This is the only course that is charted in the Roadmap to Peace. We can only secure peace if we give something back to our friends instead of just arming ourselves. Because someone has to keep Putin in check and not lose sight of him if the USA drops out because it has no more money. War is expensive and costs a lot of money and for what? Shouldn’t we try “peace-making” and invest a little money in peace instead of just avoiding war?